Over 20 members of Congress, including Reps. Michelle Fischbach and Tom Emmer of Minnesota, sent President Joe Biden a letter to propose solutions that lower the costs of gasoline and energy.
Biden, like the many millions of Americans who fill up at the pump every week, is said to be “frustrated” by high gas prices, according to USA Today. CBS News reported last month that the president “called for an investigation” into rising prices, and he has also pleaded with OPEC+ to increase their oil production, an idea they have hitherto refused.
The letter criticized Biden’s communication with OPEC+, saying that “instead of continuing to call for increased prosperity for [these] nations that seek to harm the United States, we should meet American needs with American-produced energy.”
What the members of Congress propose is a rescindment of certain executive orders “designed to reduce access to our country’s oil and natural gas resources,” as well as any other “barriers to American-produced oil and natural gas and its infrastructure.”
The Democrat #energy policies all but guarantee the price at the pump will continue to rise as we’re forced to ask foreign adversaries for help. I’ve cosigned a letter asking @POTUS to reverse his anti-American agenda and put American producers back in control of American energy pic.twitter.com/4ChjRm32XF
— Rep. Michelle Fischbach (@RepFischbach) October 15, 2021
Such barriers, the letter mentions, include the cancelation of the Keystone XL pipeline, tax disincentives on domestic production, a moratorium on federal land and water leases that house oil and natural gas, a proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers budget refusing to fund work that lowers the cost of fossil fuels, and a proposed fracking ban.
“Currently, your administration’s reputation with regard to clean, affordable energy is headed in a similar direction as the Afghanistan debacle — a strategic failure where situational reality was set aside in favor of political expediency,” the members of Congress wrote. “Unlike Afghanistan, there is an opportunity to fix this mess before it turns into a permanent crisis.”
The letter further takes a swipe at Biden’s policies vis-à-vis foreign energy production. The president came under fire in May for waiving sanctions on Russia’s newly completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline, though just three months later the U.S. sanctioned two Russian companies involved in its construction, which wrapped up in September.
“We ask that you work with us to preserve America’s energy security and reverse your administration’s disastrous energy policies that will make us dependent on countries like China and Russia,” the letter concluded.
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
